Confusion, anger, and weekend trailed the sharing of the truckloads of rice with the Federal Government promised each of the 36 States, and the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, Abuja, as palliative, to soften the effect of the fuel subsidy removal on poor Nigerians.

The National Economic Council, NEC, presided over by Vice President, Kashim Shettima, which endorsed the tranquillizer, penultimate Thursday, also approved the distribution of 40,000 bags of maize in addition to the N5 billion each to the states.

Governor Babagana Zulum of Borno State, who briefed State House correspondents, said the states were to purchase 100,000 bags of rice and beans, among other items.

Investigation by Saturday Vanguard, however, showed that there was ambiguity among the states on the N5billion grant and rice palliative. It was learnt that the federal government had credited states with N2 billion out of the promised N5billion, but did not explain the component of the money, creating misunderstanding among the states. The development prompted Commissioners of Finance in the 36 States to meet with the Federal Government in Abuja to clear the misconceptions.

According to our source, “the federal government credited the accounts of all the states of the federation with N2 billion each but the states do not know what the N2 billion is meant for. Therefore, the states want to know if the N2 billion component from the federal government is a grant, or part of the loan. This informed the reason all the Finance Commissioners, across the country, recently met with the Federal Government to get clarity on what to do with the N2 billion credited to the accounts of their respective states.

“In addition, the federal government did not deliver the five trucks of rice in full to the states as of Thursday. At the moment, some states have done nothing about the federal government palliative because there is no clarity from the federal government, and that has also affected the truckloads of rice”, the source added. Saturday Vanguard learned that some states received two trucks of rice but withheld distribution until they receive the remaining three. Others were yet to receive theirs, but some have fully received their five trucks and in some states, party leaders hijacked the distribution.

A video was trending during the week to demonstrate the transparency in the sharing of the 1,200 bags of rice donated by the Federal Government for the people of Kwara State in 16 local governments, as part of the palliatives promised by the government to cushion the effect of the fuel subsidy removal.

In the video, the narrator informed the crowd that out of the 1,200 bags of the palliative rice, Adewole ward, which is one of the 12 wards in Ilorin West local government was given 8 bags and when it was further divided among the areas in the ward, Agunbelewo area, comprising several families got six bowls of rice which he put in the midst of the people as one of the bewildered residents asked; “how do we share this now? In Lagos, the distribution was accompanied by chaos. Such was the absurdity of the so called palliative measures by the Federal Government.

Unreasonable concept–Nsuke, MOSOP president

President of MOSOP, Fegalo Nsuke, said that the distribution of rice to the citizens was the most “ridiculous” thing any government could envisage at a critical time just like this. According to him, “We are not in an emergency in Nigeria. The government should have sent the rice to the camps of displaced people.

I will, therefore, suggest that they send the bags of rice to the Motherless Children and Old Peoples’ homes. I do not trust that the government can effectively distribute the rice to the poor because they do not even have reliable data of the poor. N5 billion, and donated foodstuff cannot ease poverty nor can it address food crisis and poverty.

We will suggest the government invest the money in public transport. That could affect society and reduce the cost of transportation. But beyond that, the government should encourage investment and competition to address the economic crisis created by the subsidy removal.”

Tinubu fell into a booby trap–Sara-Igbe, PANDEF chieftain

A chieftain of the pan Niger Delta Elders Forum, PANDEF, Chief Anabs Sara-Igbe, asserted that, “Considering the lifestyle of governors across the country, they will share the money with their close associates and give the rice to family members and political loyalists. That was what happened in the COVID-19 period.

What have they done with the 13 percent Derivation to states? They talked about providing vehicles to help the masses in transportation. We have seen that during the military regime. Where are those vehicles the government bought today? The federal government should approve the operations of modular refineries and transact businesses in our local currency.

That is the fastest way of salvaging the economy. Government should make the refineries work maximally; encourage the Dangote Cement to function well. When you do that, you will take away customs duties from people and the cost of insurance. President Tinubu went into a bobby trap without looking deep”.

ONDO

Distribution to commence in Ondo on September 1

In Ondo, the state government confirmed receiving 3,000 bags of rice from the Federal Government.

The state commissioner for finance and chairman of the State Palliative Committee, Wale Akinterinwa, said “the state was actually expecting 81,000 bags of rice from the federal government but only 3,000 bags were so far delivered. But the state government has ordered the purchase of additional 3,000 bags of rice, for distribution to vulnerable residents of the state.

A resident and the State chairman of the Social Democratic Party in the state, Hon Stephen Adewale said, “The issue of palliative in Ondo State is an illustration of the phrase, ‘the more you look, the less you see.’ What is the precise amount allocated to them by the FG to purchase additional bags of rice and what information and metrics will they employ to make sure that the rice reaches the right people? Also, another resident and a public analyst, Hon Ayo Fadaka said, “Palliatives beg the issue and never works, any astute administrator in today’s Nigeria should know that with the quantum of corruption which has grown in leaps in recent years, money voted as palliative will end up in the pockets of officials of government and a few selected pockets that will be given some miserable thousands.

Government must think hard and evolve policies that are geared towards the re-engineering of our economy to attain prosperity. Policies that hurt people, destroy their earning power, crush their comfort can never be ameliorated by a silly palliative program, even if effective, can never be far reaching, the government should think straight and do the right thing”.

OYO: Palliatives still locked up in the warehouse in Oyo

In Oyo state, the palliatives are still locked up in the warehouse. It was learnt that Governor Seyi Makinde has not given permission for the distribution as a source said the governor was still awaiting the report of the committee setup to oversee the distribution of the palliatives.

Meanwhile, residents have frowned at the delay in the distribution. A resident, Alhaja Ramota Oladimeji, noted with dismay that the governor has not taken the plight of residents into consideration as expected of him. She said: “Other state governments have begun distributing palliatives. Why has our own governor refused to toe the same path? This hardship is unbearable. He should have told us what is delaying the distribution”.

Mr Kemi Adetola in his opinion said: “There is nothing special in the distribution of palliatives that will warrant setting up of a committee. The outcome of the fuel subsidy removal is very hard on us and we want the governor to begin the distribution of these palliatives in his custody. We are really hungry,” he lamented.

ANAMBRA

Anambra to distribute rice to over 300,000 households

By Vincent Ujumadu

Anambra State government said it would distribute rice to over 300,000 households in the coming weeks across the 326 wards in the state. Although Governor Chukwuma Soludo has not disclosed the number of bags of rice the state received from the federal government, youths of All Progressives Congress, APC, in the state are already demanding that the governor should make it public.

The convener of APC youths forum, Mr. Paschal Candle said, “It is important that we track the rice the Governor intends to share to 300,000 households and the quantity. If the rice is from the federal government, it is very important to let our people know so that the state government will not claim it came from the state coffers.

So, we are insisting that Governor Soludo categorically affirms or denies receipt of five truckloads of rice from the federal government. Any attempt to shy away from making such a simple clarification raises grounds for suspicion of potential corrupt practices because the state government may surreptitiously include cost of rice freely given to the state as part of the expenses the Anambra State government made to provide palliatives”.

BAYELSA

Bayelsa receives two truckloads of rice, withholds distribution

Bayelsa State has received only two truckloads of rice (1,200 bags of rice) out of the projected five truckloads from the federal government as of Thursday. A top state government official who confided in Saturday Vanguard said, “As we speak, what we have received is two truckloads and we are waiting for the remaining three to arrive before we can start distribution.

The five trucks will amount to about 3000 bags of rice since a truckload contains 600 bags, and this will not be enough. The state will have to purchase more to augment what we are getting but the governor will take that decision.”A member of the Civil Liberties Organisation, CLO, Bayelsa State branch, Mr. David West, said, “in Bayelsa State, no government official has come up to tell the people how much and what they have received, it is as if no palliative has come to the state. We are still waiting for them to tell us they have received the palliative and the modalities for distributing the palliative.

And if they eventually receive the palliatives, I think they should not hand it over to the politicians because it will be a PDP affair”.

CROSS RIVER

In Cross River, APC faithful share the rice

In Cross-River State, there was no clear-cut information on the truckloads of rice sent to the state, but it was gathered that the State Emergency Management Agency, SEMA, in Calabar, took delivery of truckloads of rice.

An official disclosed that the distribution of palliative, packed in the agency’s warehouse to the various local government areas, started last week. Director General of SEMA, Mrs Ogeyi Odey, did not give details of the quantity of rice brought to the state when contacted.

Our findings however showed that the government distributed the rice through the All Progressives Congress, APC network in the state. Officials of the party in the three senatorial districts handled the distribution. A party official in Calabar South, Edem, said “each local government area in the Southern district got 25 bags”, he said.

RIVERS

In Rivers, officials mum on palliative received

In Rivers State, it was not clear if the state has received five truckloads of rice and other foodstuff, as government officials contacted kept mute. The Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People, MOSOP, and other stakeholders, argued that the distribution of money and rice to the citizens without a long-term plan for securing the future would hardly solve the present economic challenges inflicted on the citizens by the government policy.

However, a coalition of civil society organizations, CSOs, in the state called on Governor Siminalaye Fubura to adopt a technology-based method of distributing palliative.

ABIA

Abia receives 3,000 bags, distributes through political wards

Special Adviser to the Governor on Policies and Interventions, Rev. Father Christian Anokwuru said that Abia had so far received 3000 bags of grains and decided to reach the people through the political wards to ensure nobody was excluded.

According to him, each of the 184 political wards in the state will receive 14 bags of rice. “We got 3000 bags of grains and we started distribution on Wednesday. We are targeting the poor and the less privileged, and we decided to share them through the 184 political wards.

Each of them will get 14 bags. On N5 billion cash approved for states, Rev. Father Anokwuru, said only N2 billion had been given to Abia State. He, however, explained that the state was contemplating using it to acquire mass transit buses that would be conveying passengers at a reduced fare.

PLATEAU

Plateau receives 3,000 bags

Plateau State Governor, Mr Caleb Mutfwang said the state has received 3,000 bags of rice and N2bn out of the N5bn promised by the Federal Government.

He said, “We have received N2 billion so far. 52% is the grant component and 48% is a loan component that we must repay. 3,000 bags of rice were allocated to the state. We are mandated to use N1bn from the money to buy rice locally”.

Chairman, State Emergency Management Agency, SEMA Sunday Abdu said, the rice was shared among the three Senatorial zones. Zones with five local government areas got 200 bags per local government while those with six local government areas got 166 bags per local government area.

We placed a committee in each of the local government areas to distribute the rice. The committee include the Chairman of the LGA, the Chairman of the Party, the Paramount Ruler in the LGA, the representative of CAN and JNI; these five persons form the LGA committee.”

OSUN

Osun state awaits second batch from FG before distributing

The Osun State Government said it has received the first batch of 3,000 bags of 50kg rice, but was still waiting for the second batch of over 14,000 bags. A committee member, who is also the President, Osun Muslim Community, Alhaji Mustapha Olawuyi, disclosed that the committee has decided to suspend the sharing of the rice till it received the whole consignment.

According to him, if the committee shared the 3,000 bags, what would get to the beneficiaries would be too small to alleviate any hunger. He said, “as a committee, we took the decision on our own, we already had a sharing template, decided which segment of the society get what, but we have to wait for the second batch for whatever we are sharing to be significant”.

However, some residents argued that the state government should first add to what was available and alleviate the people’s suffering on the short term. Adeosun Oluwole, a trader in Osogbo, wondered how Governor Babagana Zulum of Borno was reaching out to the people of the state, when some governors were merely giving excuses.

KANO

Kano receives 5 truckloads of rice, yet to commence distribution

Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf of Kano State said, “We have got palliatives of 5 trucks of bags of rice from President Bola Ahmed Tinubu. Similarly, the state govt has purchased essential commodities worth N1.6 billion from the window opened by the Federal Government for state government to buy from its warehouses.

Government has already put machinery in place to come up with modalities for the distribution especially in rural areas.

We will also came up with other measures to cushion the effect of the fuel subsidy removal”. Meanwhile, some residents have joined the governor in appealing to the Federal Government to consider the large population of the state in the sharing formula.

KADUNA

Kaduna State Governor, Senator Uba Sani at a press briefing said, “We are targeting about one million and fifty thousand poor and vulnerable citizens, representing 210,000 households. The Federal Government promised to give the state N5billion, but as of today, N2billion has been given to Kaduna State and that is what we are using right now to ensure that we come up with something for the poor, underserved and vulnerable in our state who have been suffering the removal of the fuel subsidy.

The Committee headed by the Deputy Governor, which has all the labour unions, market women, people with disabilities represented, sat down and worked out the modalities on how we will spend the N2billion.

We have agreed and decided to buy 43,000 bags of 50kg rice. The N65 million balance will be used to support the logistics of People With Disabilities, the Widows and the IDPs that live in the Internally Displaced Camps in Kaduna.

DELTA

Delta expecting more rice, yet to start the distribution

In Delta, the state government has received in part like Bayelsa state, and commenced distribution to residents, as it was still expecting more truckloads of rice from the federal government. Chief Press Secretary to the governor, Sir Festus Ahon, said, “We have started receiving rice from the federal government but we are yet to receive all.

The committee on palliatives headed by the Secretary to the State Government, Mr Kingsley Emu is working on how the rice would be distributed. We have not started distributing to the people because we have not got the total number we are expecting.

BENUE

Benue receives 5 trailer loads of 3,000 bags of rice, yet to commence distribution

The Benue State Government has received five trailer loads of 3,000 bag of rice from the Federal Government as part of the petrol subsidy removal intervention. Governor Hyacinth Alia who made this known said the rice would be shared to all the 23 Local Government Areas, LGAs, of the state with each getting 100 bags.

Despite the announcement, the state government is yet to commence the distribution of the rice.

TARABA

Taraba yet to receive FG rice

The Chairman of the Taraba State Palliative Care Committee, Saleh Saad, has said his committee had not received any grain from the Federal Government as palliative. He said while that was being awaited, the committee through an initiative of the state government was set to distribute some grains across the state.

He said the commodities were from the state ministry of agriculture and food security, and will be distributed to the needy across the 16 LGAs of the state. He also said modalities to ensure equitable distribution have been put in place to ensure seamless sharing when they fully commence their work. (Saturday Vanguard)

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